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A Prayer for Owen Meany - Introducion

Topics:Phillips Exeter Academy, The World According to Garp, John IrvingPages: 2 (694 words)Published: December 18, 2012

Lauren
5/1/12
“Introduction”

“- Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me.” – Frederick Buechner

A Prayer for Owen Meany, published in 1989, was John Irving’s seventh novel. He had already experienced great success with his fourth novel; The World According to Garp, and has had nine international bestsellers. A Prayer for Owen Meany won over everyone who read it, and received incredible praise among his fellow authors. Stephen King said of Irving’s seventh novel “John Irving, who writes novels in the unglamorous but effective way Babe Ruth used to hit home runs, deserves a medal not only for writing this book but for the way he has written it… A Prayer for Owen Meany is a rare creation in the somehow exhausted world of late twentieth-century fiction—it is an amazingly brave piece of work… So extraordinary, so original, and so enriching… Readers will come to the end feeling sorry to leave [this] richly textured and carefully wrought world.” On the very first page of the novel, John states that Owen is the reason that he is a Christian, and his effect on John’s faith is simple: Owen’s life is what you’d call a miracle. From a young age he has supernatural visions and dreams, and honestly believes that he is God’s instrument. He has troubling foreknowledge of his own death—and gives almost undeniable evidence of God’s existence. In his seventh novel, Irving gives human structure to the unexplainable.

Like most of the novels that Irving has penned in his career, A Prayer for Owen Meany takes place in New England. The book is set in the fictional town of Gravesend, New Hampshire, which is based on the real town of Exeter, New Hampshire. Likewise, the preparatory school that John and Owen attend, Gravesend Academy, is based off of the prestigious Philips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. Although in the beginning...

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...leading up until the climactic ending in A Prayer For OwenMeany, John Irving explains to his readers just how important it is to OwenMeany to fulfill his duties and obligations to God. Like a hobbit traveling to Mt. Doom in Mordor, he is determined and dedicated more than anyone in the novel to achieve his goals, despite his responsibilities and, what should be, his major concerns in his life. Owen completely envelopes himself in the fact that he is an instrument used by God, and doesn’t even stop to think to realize and remember his loved ones, whom are Hester, his love struck girlfriend, and John, his best friend who has been with him through thick and thin ever since they were children. It is bittersweet, I suppose, about the choices he ultimately ends up making until the end. On one hand he will miss out on the opportunities he can easily obtain through attending Harvard and making a life for himself with his most important people by his side (Hester and John); on the other hand, however, by choosing to follow God’s calling for his life, he will conclusively act upon the happening that impacts the ending of the novel altogether.
Owen, as one finds out throughout the novel, is excessively brilliant, surpassing the intelligence of other people his age by far. Tabitha Wheelwright acknowledges this special gift in Owen insisting that he attend Gravesend...

...The Marxist literary criticism according to the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary theory describes that a novel should unmask or accentuate a more whole understanding of a community. Marxist criticism analyzes ways in which a human is formed and socialized through manufactured views of reality and truth. (Fish, Tom) The novel A Prayer for OwenMeany is a good example of underlying patterns and manufactured views of reality and truth. If we examine John Irving’s novel A Prayer for OwenMeany through a Marxist lens we can see that Harriet looks at the people around her according to class power and social standing.
Harriet recognizes her role within the community as a result of her position. When explaining the Meany’s position in society she said; “Let me say…everyone in Owen Meany’s family” (Irving, John 6) Harriet married a shoe salesman with the name Wheelwright who had a well-established last name in their community. Once her husband passed away, she sold the factory for a large sum and kept the last name for herself, her daughter and grandson as she knew her social standing would not waiver in the community. Her ancestors rode on the Mayflower as part of the first families that populated the United States, they were of high standing and Harriet strived to rejoin the ranking they once had. Harriet, in this time, had moved up in social standing from the...

...OwenMeany believes he is God's instrument, throughout the novel "A Prayer for OwenMeany" both Owen and Johnny meet many strange anomalies for regular mortals that confirm to each other that Owen is indeed God's instrument. The events that most greatly affect Owens's life and essentially the outcome of the book are encountered through physiological discoveries. Owens's claimed vision of the angel of death in Johnny's mothers room, Owen seeing a date upon Scrooge's gravestone, and when Owen dreams of his own death.
In A Prayer for OwenMeany, it is with great loss that John Wheelwright gains faith through his friendship with the tiny "saint-hero", OwenMeany.
elationship of faith and fate. The idea that believing in God in a world where all faith is lost and no miracles happen proves to be almost doubtful. But, as the story unfolds, you begin to realize that the "special purpose" each person holds can only be told by the direction in which God decides. In this scene, OwenMeany is on stage enacting the ghost of the future yet to come when Owen approaches the gravestone and faints. He later awakens just as the curtains fall only to realize the name he read on the gravestone was his own. Scared out of his mind, he has been given a glimpse...

...see what you believe.”
The main theme of A Prayer for OwenMeany is religious faith--specifically, the relationship between faith and doubt in a world in which there is no obvious evidence for the existence of God. John writes on the first page of the book that OwenMeany is the reason that he is a Christian, and ensuing story is presented as an explanation of the reason why. Though the plot is complicated, the explanation for Owen's effect on Johnny's faith is extremely simple; Owen's life is a miracle and offers miraculous and almost undeniable evidence of God's existence. John struggles throughout the book to resolve his faith with his skepticism and doubt, but at the end he doesn’t need to make a choice between the two extremes. In the book, he states “it's not god who's fucked up, it's the screamers who say they believe in him and who claim to pursue their ends in his holy name.” John remains troubled, because Owen's sacrificial death seems painfully unfair. Johnny is left with the problem of accepting God's will. In the end, he invests more faith in Owen himself than he invests in God, and he concludes the novel by asking God to allow Owen's resurrection and return to Earth.
The most important symbol in A Prayer for OwenMeany is, for the title's sake, Owen; Owen embodies the relationship between the...

...“He is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of OwenMeany,” (Irving, 1). These were John’s first words of the book, and it nicely represents what the whole book is going to be about. Religious faith, including fate destined by God, is the leading theme in A Prayer for OwenMeany. Many characters, especially John Wheelwright and OwenMeany, undergo a series of events in their lives that make them question, or justify the existence of God in a world where there is no obvious evidence. Every scene that happens in the book has significance and is part of Owen’s destiny and fate, which was believed to be mapped out by God. Owen is the main focus of the novel and is who demonstrates this theme very well. His appearance, visions, dreams, ideas, and acts are each at some point in the story demonstrated to be God’s will- “...I AM GOD’S INSTRUMENT,” (Irving, 337) as Owen put it. It is all of this which explains Owen’s thinking of himself and God, as well as it helps John resolve his faith. Throughout their childhood together and adult life, Owen does and says things that don’t always quite make sense to John, but always give him a sense that there is something else in the world besides people. When Owen’s life on Earth culminates, everything begins to have reason, his appearance, visions, and practices. Owen...

...Adam Osherow
9/9/13
Pd. 2 AP English Lit.
A Prayer for OwenMeany Essay
In his novel A Prayer for OwenMeany, author John Irving uses a final chapter of over 100 pages to provide appropriate closure of his intricate novel. In the final chapter, Irving provides answers to large questions the rest of the novel raises. Irving answers the question “who is John Wheelwright’s father?” while also providing further information and closure, as well as the answer to “why the practicing of ‘the shot’ was so important for Owen and John.” Finally, Irving is most thorough in carrying out the closure of a main theme in the novel, Owen’s prophecy of his own exact death, how it happens, when it happens, and most importantly with whom it happens.
Since John Wheelwright was born due to “a little fling” his mother had on a train, he never knew who his real father was. As a boy he always believed his mother would tell him when he was old enough to know, but she died at an early age before she could ever tell him. The novel continues, and although John is curious, Owen is more curious, and the theme is maintained mostly through the efforts of Owen. In the final chapter, after Owen has died and John goes to the local reverend to discuss the funeral amongst other topics, John’s true father is revealed. His birth father, the Reverend Lewis Merrill...

...A Prayer for OwenMeany Literary Analysis Essay
The definition of believe is to be confident about something. The more confidence one has in things, the more individualistic they become. In A Prayer for OwenMeany, John Irving shows that allowing oneself to believe in something defies mediocrity. OwenMeany is so far from mediocre that he seems to rise above others. His beliefs in all sorts of things help him to achieve this status.
Owen’s chief belief throughout the novel is that he is “GOD’S INSTRUMENT” (337) His belief in this causes him to feel strongly about faith and religion. Throughout Sunday school and church, Owen always appeared to know more than others, or have stronger feelings. Even at a young age he felt these things, like “that the Catholics had committed an UNSPEAKABLE OUTRAGE” (22) and that their family’s move from the church “was a move that risked eternal damnation.” (22) As children, after the death of Johnny’s mother, the reactions of Johnny and Owen differed greatly. Johnny reacted as any normal child would: sad, upset, and in need of a friend. Owen, however, reacted in a much more symbolic way, taking the claws off of Johnny’s armadillo. Johnny didn’t realize at first why this had been done, but Owen later explained that his “hands were the instrument, God has taken”...

...Different Ways John Irving Creates Suspense in A Prayer for OwenMeany
In John Irving's novel titled, A Prayer for OwenMeany, suspenseful events are of abundance, and there are multiple ways the author creates this suspense. Among these methods of creating suspense, four that stand out are the use of setting, the pace of the story, the involvement of mysteries to be solved, and the ability of the reader to easily identify and sympathize with the protagonist. By placing a character in a gloomy or solitary place, uncomfortable feelings are created, which append to the suspense. Pace and structure of the story also play into the foundation of suspense, as shorter sentences and stronger, more cutting verbs and adjectives are often used to keep the reader highly interested and reading at a rapid speed. Of course, suspense could not be considered what it is if there were no mystery involved. The element of not knowing what is in store for the future and having the urge to find out is the essence of suspense. Also, if the reader cannot easily relate to and sympathize with the character in the suspenseful situation, a loss of interest can arise, and therefore spoil the spirit of the tension. Uncomfortable settings, pace and structure, use of mysteries, and capability to relate to the main character are four techniques that John Irving uses to create suspense.
First, a key method used to...